Halt brain drain
In an interview we
published yesterday in our business pages Chairman EMP Group of
Companies Chandrananda Diyunuge spoke of the dearth of
professional engineers in the country. He said, "the brain drain
has created a hindrance to the development of industries.
Professionals are migrating to other countries and there is
difficulty in finding professionals such as engineers for the
industries." He called on the Government for urgent steps to
stem the exodus of professionals such as engineers.
This concern expressed by a professional engineer himself on
the dangers posed by the exodus of engineers calls for some
serious thinking on the part of the authorities. This is
specially so since the country has embarked on a gigantic post
war development drive that would essentially require skilled
personnel and professions such as engineers and architects for
the colossal construction work that is being planned.
Paradoxically while the country is facing a dearth of skilled
personnel for the construction industry Government Ministers are
boasting of the employment opportunities they have secured for
our construction workers in countries such as Qatar and South
Korea. President Rajapaksa should step in to rein in such
Ministers at a time when he himself has sent out a virtual SOS
to our skilled professionals and experts overseas to return to
the Motherland and avail of their services in the rebuilding
process. The Government before long will have to weigh the
magnitude of its development programs with the available human
resources in the country.
There is no point in drawing up blueprints if there are no
skilled professionals to execute these plans. This will be a
problem it will have to encounter as the development tempo
accelerates with no professionals to complete them.
The Government should therefore set about dealing with this
crisis in all earnest. First of all it should strive to retain
what is left of our professionals by offering them attractive
terms. When the annual budget is prepared special allocations
should be made to provide facilities and incentives to
professionals such as engineers to retain them in the country.
Sadly even in the last budget only certain categories of
professionals were given incentive payments such as doctors
while others were left out. Even duty free vehicle permits were
restricted to those public servants who had put in a specific
number of years of service. We are not aware if top-flight
professionals such as engineers are entitled to duty free
vehicle permits and other concessions extended to public
servants. If not steps should be taken to immediately extend
this facility and other privileges to all engineers whether they
are in public service or not and irrespective of the number of
years they have served and without other conditions. Since the
number of engineers in the country now represent only a small
fraternity according to the EMP Group Chairman this obviously
cannot be a huge drain on the Treasury.
In fact if Parliamentarians most of them, without even a
basic education are given perks and privileges over and beyond
their true worth and who could be easily dispensed with,
professionals such as engineers deserve the foremost attention
of the authorities given their potential worth to the country.
The education system that was being pursued all these years
was also partly responsible for the lack of engineers in the
country. Higher education courses and study programs have only
now become employment-oriented and geared to producing skilled
professionals. How long will this take to produce the required
number of engineers to cater to the present demands is anyone's
guess.
Even if this is eventually accomplished the challenge no
doubt would be to keep them in the country to get them involved
in the development programs before these professionals are lured
into greener pastures abroad.
Also all causes that hinder their professional advancement in
the country should be dealt with while they should be offered an
attractive remuneration package and other perks even to match
those offered to our legislators. This lack of opportunity for
advancement was another reason for mass migration of our
professionals that was only exacerbated by the ethnic conflict.
The EMP Chairman recounted his own experience as to how as a
budding engineer he was only given responsibility in the firms
which hired him but not authority in the execution of his plans
which naturally is an impediment to creativity and initiative.
It is such action that frustrates professionals compelling them
to look elsewhere.
It is therefore time that the Government took a serious view
at the looming threat of a country sans the cream of its talent
who are availing of their skills to other countries when their
expertise is sorely needed in their Motherland.
Ideally a committee comprising the best of intellectuals
should be appointed to go into this crisis and suggest remedial
measures before things take a turn for the worse and the country
loses all its professionals and skilled labour dealing a body
blow to the country's post war reconstruction. |